Historic Juneteenth Tribute
This Sunday is Juneteenth and there will be celebrations across our community and the country. And because the federal holiday falls on a Sunday, it will also be observed nationally on Monday. And on that day, you are invited to the long-anticipated rededication of Hamtramck Stadium, which includes a Negro Leagues tribute game followed by a special homage to a prominent former negro-league player.
MLB recognizes historic Negro Leagues as โMajor Leagueโ
Major League Baseball (MLB) is finally recognizing the historic Negro Leagues as part of its own history -- counting the statistics and records of thousands of Black baseball players. The MLB is now recognizing more than 3,400 players as โMajor Leagueโ players for the first time in history. โItโs overdue, but itโs a bittersweet moment because most of the guys are gone,โ said Negro League historian Louis Manley Jr. Between 1920 and 1948, four major Negro League teams played in Detroit. He could do it all,โ Rosilyn Stearnes said of her father Turkey Stearns.
MLB reclassifies Negro Leagues as major league
Major League Baseball has reclassified the Negro Leagues as a major league and will count the statistics and records of its 3,400 players as part of its history. Josh Gibson, the greatest of all Negro League sluggers, might just wind up with a major league record, too. The statistics and records of greats like Gibson, Paige and roughly 3,400 other players are set to join Major League Baseball's books after MLB announced Wednesday it is reclassifying the Negro Leagues as a major league. The Negro Leagues consisted of seven leagues, and MLB will include records from those circuits between 1920-48. Those leagues were excluded in 1969 when the Special Committee on Baseball Records identified six official โmajor leaguesโ dating to 1876.
A Long-Overdue 'Tip of the Cap' to baseball's Black pioneers
Not long after, with many of its best players gradually following Robinsons path, the Negro Leagues ceased operations. President Clinton said he chose a Chicago Cubs cap in honor of Ernie Banks, the late Hall of Famer who got his start in the Negro Leagues. Long before that, the Negro Leagues made baseball better and America better.The celebration was moved online after a major league-wide tribute to baseballs Black pioneers scheduled for June 27 was shelved along with the games because of the coronavirus pandemic. So then I thought, How about a virtual tip of the cap?''' I always felt if there was going to be conversations about race in sports, the Negro Leagues should be at the center, because thats the story: They triumphed over adversity.